Tag Archives: Justin Theroux

Justin Theroux seems to have figured out how to engineer his life so that he enjoys it more often than he doesn’t. So work is rewarding more than it is soul-crushing. Remember, the guy’s 46—he’s been around a few blocks.

Let’s start with range. It’s his professional hallmark. Actor, writer, producer. He played a douchey director for David Lynch in Mulholland Drive, a psycho with a six-pack in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and Evil DJ in the Zoolander films. (He wrote the second one.) He also joined the screenwriter ranks with Tropic Thunder, Iron Man 2, and Rock of Ages. The “full retard” speech in Tropic is all his. More recently, he’s gone heavy, headlining HBO’s The Leftovers for three seasons and taking parts in The Girl on the Train and the underrated Netflix flick Mute. (The sick-o-meter goes to 11 in the latter role.)

In the early ’90s, after graduating from Bennington College with a drama and visual-arts degree, he became that stereotypical young N.Y.C. artist bouncing between acting jobs and painting murals in nightclubs, then expanding into bitsy film roles and, eventually, bigger gigs.

In those younger days, though, he felt the pain of things not going the way or at the pace he wanted. “When I was in my early 20s, I was impatient,” he says. “Always wanting things to happen the way I wanted them to happen. And that has gone away. Not completely—because there are definitely things I want to happen in the time I want them to happen. But I don’t lose sleep over things anymore the same way I used to.”

Aside from work, Theroux fills out his life with some genuine loves: motorcycles and dogs. If you ask him about his favorite bike, he rattles off a complete paragraph in one breath. He’s also partial to pit bulls—he is taking custody of a new rescue later in the week. “Dogs do drive you crazy,” he says. “It’s like having a toddler that’ll never speak, and toward the end of their life they get very sweet and tender and break your heart.”

In the meantime, may we all push ourselves to a point where we can say something like this: “There’s nothing I’m dying to do. Nothing gnawing at me.” Then Theroux laughs. “There are things I know I will do. I just don’t know what they are yet.”

The Leftovers star Justin Theroux is featured in the November 2016 issue of Men’s Health UK.

From the digital issue:

His style says downtown New York biker: leather boots, skinny jeans, vintage T-shirt. “The only think that is unchangeable is I refuse to wear shorts,” says Justin Theroux. “I just don’t think it’s a good look on anybody,” he says. “It’s the same with flip-flops. I don’t think anyone should wear those things unless they’re in rehab, in hospital or on a beach. I just prefer jeans and boots.”

With the addition of a beard-the facial hair has not been the most welcome. “It’s driving me crazy,” he laughs, “because I actually love shaving. There’s something that feels good about shaving.” The beard is grown for the third and final series of The Leftovers. The show has found it’s groove and a dedicated audience. “The people who love the show are embracing that because there are existential questions in it that we ask all the time,” he says.

Regrets would seem to be few and far between for Justin Theroux. He may star in a show about the mysteries of life but he’s a man who’s cracked the code to living a happy one. “If I’ve learned anything it’s to do what I want based on my taste. Usually I enjoy myself. It’s simple advice, do what makes you happy. But I’ve been very successful, at least on a happiness level.”

A new episode of The Leftovers airs November 15th and we’ve got a preview.

The episode is called “A Most Powerful Adversary” and here’s the synopsis via TV Guide:

Nora delivers shocking news to Jill and Kevin, who worries about how to solve his Patti problem. Meanwhile, Jill goes on an adventure that couldn’t happen anywhere else; and Laurie makes a decision that affects her whole family.

A new episode of The Leftovers airs November 1st and we’ve got a preview.

The episode is called “No Room at the Inn” and here’s the synopsis via TV Guide:

Matt and Mary leave Miracle to see if they can learn more about her condition, but their lives are turned upside down when they’re not allowed back into town and must deal with the mob of desperate squatters that lingers just outside the gates.

A new episode of The Leftovers airs October 25th and we’ve got a preview.

The episode is called “Orange Sticker” and here’s the synopsis via TV Guide:

An earthquake rocks Miracle in the middle of the night, but Nora has no idea where Kevin is, and when he finally comes home he can’t remember where he was or what happened to his phone. Meanwhile, Evie’s disappearance has the Murphys reeling; and an old adversary makes her presence felt.